Green activists are protesting the move by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to set up a research centre for the study of temple rituals and traditions, with the aid of the tourism department, on the Aluva Sivarathri Manappuram, a part of the river Periyar sand bed.

The blueprint for the Rs 1 .5 crore research centre has been prepared by an architect hired by the TDB and will be handed over to the Centre by state tourism minister A. P. Anil Kumar, according to TDB member, K V Padmanabhan who visited Aluva Manappuram recently. The research centre will also collect details about 1,300 small, medium and big temples under the TDB.

But the project has got environmentalists worried. Secretary of the Association for Environmental Protection, Aluva, N. Ramachandran argues the TDB does not have any right to build concrete structures on the Aluva Manappuram which is a part of the Periyar river.

“This is a gross irregularity and should not be allowed at any cost,” he insists. Aluva tahsildar Padmakumar agrees that Manalpuram is a part of the Periyar and does not come under the TDB.

The Devaswom board plans to build a three storey building near the Aluva Manappuram administrative office with rooms to accommodate guests on all floors as part of the project.